According to former Premier League and FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg, Harry Maguire shouldn’t have been on the pitch to score Manchester United’s second goal after stamping into Michy Batshuayi’s groin.
“Harry Maguire should not have been on the pitch to score Manchester United’s second goal after his earlier kick-out at Michy Batshuayi,” Clattenburg told Daily Mail.
“On first viewing, I wanted to support Maguire, thinking maybe he had caught the Chelsea striker in his follow through after challenging for the ball.
“But replays showed the United defender made a clear second movement towards Batshuayi which he could have avoided. He made a stamping motion into Batshuayi’s groin and should have seen red.
“VAR looked at this but did not deem it a clear error by referee Anthony Taylor, and this is where the inconsistencies lie.
“Let’s not forget Taylor was the man in the middle when Tottenham’s Son Heung-min made a similar foul on Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger in December.
“Taylor missed the challenge by Maguire, but had he gone to his pitch-side monitor, I’m sure he would have sent him off. As for the booking for Willian, that was a blatant dive.”